SAS^® Scoring Accelerator

High-performance model scoring and deployment with faster time to results

Overview
Benefits
Features
System Requirements

Organizations today want answers fast, with automated processes and complete accuracy. Unfortunately, most organizations simply can’t aggregate, analyze and process large volumes of data and analytic models quickly enough to support critical decisions that must be made in hours, minutes or seconds. The problem is further compounded by the presence of redundant data marts used to support analytical processes.

SAS Scoring Accelerator enables customers to translate scoring models created in SAS^® Enterprise Miner™ into database-specific functions to be deployed and then executed directly within the database environment. This reduces unnecessary data movement and leverages database scalability for faster deployment of analytic models, which yields more timely information.

Benefits

Achieve higher model-scoring performance and faster time to results.
Enhance the productivity of your data mining and IT groups.
Reduce data movement and latency.
Better manage, provision and govern data.
Make better use of IT resources and reduce costs.

SAS^® format library
SAS^® Enterprise Miner™ Score Export node
SAS^® Scoring Accelerator publishing client
Integrated environment for tracking and monitoring model performance over time
Support for multiple databases

SAS Scoring Accelerator combines the statistical transformation and modeling methods available in SAS Enterprise Miner with the scalability and processing speed offered through the database system. The combination provides an integrated analytical environment for the massively parallel deployment of SAS Analytics inside the data warehouse database.
SAS Scoring Accelerator takes the complete scoring model code, the associated property file that contains model inputs and outputs and a catalog of user-defined formats, and deploys (or publishes) them within the data warehouse database.
By moving the scoring function to the database, the common security, auditing and administration capabilities offered by the database are honored and leveraged. This requires less movement of data, increases utilization of the enterprise data warehouse stored in the database and reduces overall costs.

Benefits

Achieve higher model-scoring performance and faster time to results. Using in-database processing, SAS Scoring Accelerator eliminates the need to move data between SAS models and the database for scoring purposes, further reducing the cost, complexity and latency of the scoring process. The performance of the entire modeling process is improved, enabling faster predictive results and competitive advantage.
Enhance the productivity of your data mining and IT groups. Rather than using manual transformation and scoring steps, SAS Scoring Accelerator enables IT to automate model deployment processes. Faster deployment frees the analytics team to begin new projects and provide analytics to more areas of the organization. Organizations incur fewer labor costs by avoiding manual scoring, which reduces the need to revalidate code for scoring purposes.
Reduce data movement and latency. In-database scoring reduces data movement and replication to streamline analytics processing. This helps organizations deliver analytics quickly while maintaining data reliability and integrity.
Better manage, provision and govern data. Reducing data movement and consolidating data in a data warehouse addresses data governance and helps ensure regulatory compliance. The common security, auditing and administration features of the database help ensure that regulated data is not accessed improperly. In addition, by running model-scoring steps inside the database, programs can be executed in such a way that detail data can be summarized and analyzed without crossing the regulatory boundary created in the database.
Make better use of IT resources and reduce costs. Proper integration and efficient use of new or existing investments in data warehouse platforms, analytic software and processes result in the delivery of more consistent, reliable and timely insights to decision makers. Providing operational insights in an efficient manner yields faster time to value at a reduced cost.

Features

SAS^® format library

File that is deployed once to the database system.

SAS^® Enterprise Miner™ Score Export node

Automatically included in your SAS Enterprise Miner installation for adding to your process flow diagram analyses.
Exports the model-scoring logic, including metadata about the required input and output variables.
Generates sample training and scoring data set for testing.

SAS^® Scoring Accelerator publishing client

Automatically translates and publishes the model as a scoring function or SAS DS2 program inside the database.
Generates a script of database commands for registering the scoring function or SAS DS2 program inside the database.
Scoring functions or SAS DS2 programs are available for use in any SQL expression wherever database-specific built-in functions are typically used.
Publishes model as protected or unprotected.
Supports SAS intrinsic and user-defined formats.
Supports a robust class of SAS Enterprise Miner predictive and descriptive models, including the preliminary transformation layer (such as data imputations).
Provides variable binning and reduction.

Integrated environment for tracking and monitoring model performance over time

Fully integrated with SAS Model Manager, an analytic model management and deployment environment, to further streamline the registration and validation of vendor-defined functions (VDFs) in the database.

Support for multiple databases

Aster Data nCluster.
EMC Greenplum Database.
IBM DB2.
IBM Netezza 1000.
Teradata Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW).

System Requirements